How the ‘app Internet’ is changing the game

Good-bye, Internet revolution — hello, app revolution!

The proliferation of smartphones, tablets, and vibrant app ecosystems such as the ones around the iPhone/iPad and Android devices are set to change the game. This shift will arrive through a new wave of innovation that links cloud-based services, smart computing, and app-enabled devices, including cars, appliances, and entertainment systems, according to new research from Forrester.

A new report, “Mobile App Internet Recasts the Software and Services Landscape,” from John McCarthy posits that on the heels of the App Store/Android Market revolution will come a second explosion of innovation that will displace activity away from the Web and toward apps as the mobile market takes over and devices become more sophisticated — and more numerous. This tranformation will present a major opportunity for developers and enterprises to create apps, as well as set up and manage the devices they’re on.

In a blog post on what he dubs the mobile app Internet, McCarthy predicts that the combined spend on apps and services will be $54.6 billion a year by 2015, with $17 billion going to app support services. Also, he foresees the app Internet disrupting “basically everything you thought you knew about building, delivering, and managing applications. It will also dramatically impact how traditional software is sold and delivered.” Enterprises and support firms have a chance now to position themselves to grab a big slice of this lucrative pie — enterprises via ambitious IT plans that capitalize on this adaptation and support firms by, well, supporting those plans via device management, security, and the like.

As for developers, Forrester’s Jeffrey Hammond writes that “we’re witnessing the rebirth of the rich client in real time, on the mobile device instead of the laptop or desktop.” Hammond sees some potential hitches in the app Internet (in particular, challenges in making development cost-effective) that could help the Web-based approach keep some momentum. He recommends that developers “keep [their] options open and understand the costs involved with going native, using mobile middleware, or investing in a Web-based approach.” He notes that “in the end, you’re probably going to use a combination of one or more approaches.”

This story, “How the ‘app Internet’ is changing the game,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.